Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $166.36.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ares Management from $172.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Ares Management from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ares Management from $136.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Ares Management from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ares Management from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Transactions at Ares Management

In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 254,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,650,754.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ryan Berry sold 18,329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.18, for a total value of $3,210,874.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 254,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,650,754.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.05, for a total value of $10,728,750.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 640,969 shares of company stock valued at $94,589,722 over the last three months. 41.89% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ares Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,392 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,560 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 21.0% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 559 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Ares Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 350 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ares Management by 10.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the asset manager's stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company's stock.

Ares Management Stock Down 0.5 %

ARES stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.49. The company had a trading volume of 305,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,158,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $53.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.02. Ares Management has a fifty-two week low of $101.44 and a fifty-two week high of $175.74.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. Ares Management had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $833.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ares Management will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Ares Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.43%.

About Ares Management

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.